APRIL 23, 2026 — Former senator Antonio Trillanes IV has dropped a political bombshell, alleging that the Duterte family received ₱181.6 million in payouts from alleged drug lord Sammy Uy, with the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) confirming that several of these transactions match their own records. This revelation, made during Vice President Sara Duterte’s ongoing impeachment hearings, intensifies questions about unexplained wealth, integrity, and accountability at the highest levels of government.

Trillanes’ sworn affidavit detailed how Sara Duterte, Rodrigo Duterte, Sebastian Duterte, Paolo Duterte, and Honeylet Avanceña with daughter Veronica allegedly encashed checks totaling ₱181.6 million between 2011 and 2013. 

The breakdown is damning:

• Sebastian Duterte: ₱51.5 million
• Honeylet Avanceña & Veronica Duterte: ₱53.2 million
• Paolo Duterte: ₱38.8 million
• Sara Duterte: ₱22.3 million
• Rodrigo Duterte: ₱15.6 million

Trillanes linked Uy to Michael Yang, Duterte’s former economic adviser, already implicated in the Pharmally scandal and offshore gaming controversies. He cited testimony from former SPO4 Arturo Lascañas, who alleged that Uy and Yang were involved in shabu laboratories in Davao City.

AMLC validation and unanswered questions

The AMLC confirmed 18 transactions from Trillanes’ annexes matched their own records, including payouts tied to Uy. They further revealed that ₱6.77 billion in large transactions flowed through Sara Duterte and her husband Mans Carpio’s accounts from 2006 to 2025, despite her SALNs declaring no cash deposits in recent years.

This discrepancy between declared assets and bank activity raises the stakes: If these funds were undeclared, they could constitute betrayal of public trust, graft, and corruption — grounds for impeachment under the Constitution.

The Duterte family built its political brand on a hardline anti-drug crusade, yet now faces allegations of benefiting from drug-linked money. The irony is stark: while thousands of poor Filipinos were killed in the drug war, the family of its architect is accused of pocketing millions from the very trade they vowed to destroy.

The revelations also highlight the fragility of accountability mechanisms in the Philippines. If the AMLC’s findings are accurate, why were these transactions not flagged earlier? And if campaign donors like Uy were indeed tied to illicit activities, what does that say about the integrity of our electoral system?

Pinoys already struggling with inflation, corruption, and insecurity are once again confronted with the possibility that those in power may have profited from the nation’s suffering. The impeachment hearings now serve as a litmus test: Will Congress pursue the truth, or will political alliances bury it?

If the Duterte family truly received millions from a drug lord, how can we ever believe in the sincerity of the country’s war on drugs?

(Image: Philippine News Agency)